New Pediatrics

Two Simple Steps Can Help Prevent Excess Weight Gain In Children Family-Focused Study Provides Tangible Evidence that Small Changes Can Positively Impact Prevention of Weight Gain in Children More than one-third of all U.S. children are overweight or dangerously close to becoming so, which makes the results of a new study, published in the October issue of Pediatrics, the official journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, particularly relevant to today’s youth and their families. The study provides the first clinical evidence that overweight children can help prevent additional weight gain by making small changes to their daily lifestyle — adding 2,000 steps a day and cutting 100 calories. While it has long been suggested that physical inactivity and diets high in calories from sugar and fat contribute to childhood obesity, this is the first study to show that simple alterations to these factors can help counter America ‘s obesity crisis. The study showed that over a six-month period, 67 percent of the families in the intervention group [each family had at least one overweight child, as defined by body mass index (BMI)] had children who maintained or reduced their BMI. Significantly more overweight children in the America On the Move Family Study intervention group reduced or maintained their percent body mass index (BMI), than the overweight children in the self-monitoring group (67% vs. 53%, p